I have a new Panason WhisperLite fan in our bathroom. When it was not connected to the ductwork, it was super quiet. As soon as we connected it, it starting making a tinny, rattling noise. When I first inspected it, I noticed that I could get a similar noise by removing the ductwork and restricting airflow from the fan (via the dampener), but now I'm pretty convinced, after disassembling the fan, that the noise *is* coming from the ductwork. We've inspected the outside vent and it's not obstructed, so it's coming from somewhere within the ductwork. Is this is a common problem? Is there any way to dampen the noise? Unfortunately, we have the ductwork boarded up now (bathroom is downstairs and we recently had the upstairs floor opened up), but we have slight access through the ceiling next to the fan such that we could disconnect the ductwork if need be. BTW this is metal, ribbed ductwork (4 inch). Any help is MUCH appreciated - this is causing us some headaches!
2006-11-21 06:21:40 · 5 answers · asked by jas001 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
Your best solution would be to remove the metal pipe and use flexible, insulated duct. It is recommended that you use R-8 flexible duct but depending on how cold your climate is, you can use R-4 from Home Depot or Lowe's, etc. Metal pipe condensates in the warm months and the condensation will follow gravity back down to your bathroom ceiling, staining it. The flexible duct should also elimiate any annoying sounds.
2006-11-21 13:19:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you can get the same noise from closing the damper with the ductwork removed then the ductwork is not the source of the noise (directly anyway). Those fans can handle very little static pressure. When you close the damper or connect the ductwork you increase the static pressure. This causes turbulence and vibration in the fan. If the duct could be straightened and smoothed it would help but that does not sound like an option. You most likely will have to live with it or replace the fan with something designed to handle a little more static pressure.
2006-11-21 10:51:33 · answer #2 · answered by Controlfreak38 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if replacing the duct with the insulated type is not an option, you might try either packing , spraying, or blowing some sort of insulation around the duct as far as you can. taking the fan out to do this would be ideal and should be easy enough to do.
good luck
2006-11-24 18:58:39 · answer #3 · answered by spooky 1 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a similar noise in my heater's ducting (assuming its from air)
I insulated the ducting and wrapped it in duct tape and that did it.
If the noise is from turbulance the insulation wont help much
2006-11-21 06:51:56 · answer #4 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Insulate it with some type of cloth then duct tape it.
2006-11-21 08:55:12 · answer #5 · answered by Julianna L 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋